Red-necked Spurfowl ( Pternistis afer, family: Phasianidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Red-necked Francolin
The Red-necked Spurfowl (Latin name Pternistis afer) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 198 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 73 also a picture of the Red-necked Spurfowl on page 81. The
Red-necked Spurfowl belongs to the family of birds classified as
Phasianidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African
Ornithology the Red-necked Spurfowl is also known by these other names:
Spurfowl, Red-throated Francolin, Bare-throated Francolin.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Red-necked Spurfowl was called the Red-necked Francolin. The Robert's 7 Latin name for Red-necked Spurfowl has changed from Francolinus afer in Robert's 6 to Pternistis afer.
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Red-necked Spurfowl is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Red-necked Spurfowl in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-necked Spurfowl has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Red-necked Spurfowl is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Red-necked Spurfowl is about 38 cms and its weight is about 500 gms
The male and female Red-necked Spurfowl have the same plumage and colours
- Head is brown.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is pink.
- Throat is black, white.
- Back is grey, brown.
- Legs are pink.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Red-necked Spurfowl feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Seeds
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Red-necked Spurfowl is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Pternistis afer will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Red-necked Spurfowl is to create the nest on the ground or in a hole in the ground. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 3 to 9
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Red-necked Spurfowl are: bushveld
You will normally see the Red-necked Spurfowl in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Inkwali
Zulu ... iNkwali
Afrikaans ...Rooikeelfisant
German ... Nacktkehlfrankolin, Rotkehlfrankolin
Portuguese ... Francolim-de-gola-vermelha
French ... Francolin gorge rouge
Dutch ... Roodkeelfrankolijn
First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list
For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 198
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
